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... From my point of view, the future is so bright, you're going to need shades.
Agree. IMO what Holly is saying is that we need to seize the day and make good things happen.
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"Several restaurants and other businesses in the Colorado Springs-area have closed in 2020 - some before and many since the onset of COVID-19. Here's a list of closings in the Pikes Peak region this year.
RESTAURANTS and DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS
- Drifter’s Hamburgers, Chapel Hills location
- Fox & Hound
- Black Eyed Pea on Garden of the Gods
- Flatirons
- Village Inn in Monument
- Village Inn at Austin Bluffs & Academy
- CB & Potts
- Buzz ‘n Bagels, 15954 Jackson Creek Parkway, Monument
- Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at the Chapel Hills and Citadel malls
- Tailored West women's boutique clothier, 103 N. Tejon St.
- Independent Records’ north academy location
- Pier 1
- Tuesday Morning
- Burlington at Chapel Hills
- Gordman’s
- Gold’s Gym
- 24-Hour Fitness
- Accolade Fitness west side location
- Carle’s Convenience store downtown location
- CJ Kard
- Kurtz men’s clothing
- Dress Barn, 1770 E. Woodmen Road
Note: Please let us know of other local closings in 2020 and we'll add them to this list. Email digital@gazette.com with the subject line "Closings 2020.""
It would be interesting if we could easily compare this list to other years. I have a suspicion the time frame around 2008-9 would've been a much longer list, and that this list might not be hugely longer than a 'normal' year, but I don't really know....
It would be interesting if we could easily compare this list to other years. I have a suspicion the time frame around 2008-9 would've been a much longer list, and that this list might not be hugely longer than a 'normal' year, but I don't really know....
I have no doubt it's way worse than other years. A recession will drop demand a bit, but covid dropped demand to zero during the lockdowns. Any well run business can absorb a slight downturn, but covid dropped demand beyond what anyone was prepared for.
Arrby, wondering why your post seems so aggressive... no, don't put me in charge. While I can technically teach economics, that would be an absolute disaster! Often I find that sometimes people mistake odd musings from someone as "this is the way it has to be, and this is my opinion on it [and everyone else's opinion is wrong], and this is how it should be" instead of someone simply thinking about current events, current economics, and not really giving an opinion of if it is right or wrong, just... how it is, and being curious to how things may change.
You seem like a true Jeffersonian Democrat. I wish we had more of you.
I do hope for a better future! The students in my classroom give me much hope.
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That list seems odd, though; I had thought that CJ Kard, for example, closed earlier, than just during this year, as well as Iron Bird. Maybe those happened earlier in 2020 than I realized. Some aren't surprises. Thirsty Parrot? I think that place has gone through several iterations in the past couple decades.
Figured Carle's convenience store would close. Disappointed, though- I always think a city needs to have some convenience stores in the city center. We don't have enough grocery stores/convenience stores to really have a "city center"
"Retail and restaurant closings are a fact of life in Colorado Springs, as they are in other cities.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has triggered months of economic hardship for many local, regional and national stores and restaurants. As a result, the list of annual closings is longer than ever, some retail experts say.
"This was worse, by far," said Jay Carlson, managing broker and principal with Springs brokerage Front Range Commercial, when asked to compare closings during the Great Recession to this year's pandemic economy.
"There's more people hurt and right on the edge of closing right now than I've ever seen," Carlson said. "It's far worse than it was back then. Back then, at least they had people coming in. But now they're virtually shut down. They can't afford to pay their employees. It's just a sad, sad situation."
Several local restaurants shuttered permanently after a state-ordered closing of indoor dining rooms from mid-March to May, which was intended to slow or halt the spread of the coronavirus. Months of fluctuating seating limits for dining rooms then followed before another round of dining room closings were imposed in late November in El Paso County.
Except for retail, Colorado Springs commercial real estate holding its own amid pandemic, experts say
Restaurants have tried to survive by offering takeout and delivery service and, increasingly, outdoor dining. Even if they're still open, though, several have laid off employees because of a drastic reduction in business.
Retailers, meanwhile, were ordered to limit the numbers of customers inside their brick-and-mortar stores, another blow to businesses already reeling because of competition with Amazon and other online retailers.
Mark Useman, a senior broker with NAI Highland in Colorado Springs, said it's too soon to know for sure if this year's number of local retail and restaurant shutdowns has exceeded those recorded during a Great Recession year. Closings as a result of the pandemic, however, are obviously numerous, he said.
"The restaurant industry right now is hurting," Useman said. "Retailers are, too, to some degree. It depends on their online connections — how much are they doing to make up the difference by doing online sales? But restaurants really can't do that. And you can only have so much outdoor seating in the middle of winter in Colorado Springs."
Not all of this year's closings were because of the pandemic.
Some restaurant and retailers that closed Colorado Springs locations already were teetering financially. Among them: Pier 1 Imports, Gordmans and Stein Mart.
Others closed when they couldn't work out new leases with landlords, such as the Burlington department store at the Chapel Hills Mall.
And a few local retailers and restaurant owners retired, downsized or changed the focus of their business, with their closings unrelated to financial problems created by the pandemic. Examples include downtown staples William Kurtz Ltd. men's clothing and the CJ Kard greeting card and gift store.
"We've seen a lot of change and closures for a combination of reasons, not just COVID, but planned closures because of the changing nature of how people are doing retail," Useman said.
How many more pandemic-related closings take place in 2021 remains to be seen.
"It's all going to depend on what our governments are going to allow to happen," Carlson said.
"Because of the vaccines, if the governments don't feel as much pressure to close things because they're worried about people getting sick and dying, and they let restaurants open at least to 50% capacity, if not better, we'll see a great resurgence in people going out to eat and restaurants surviving and so forth. But that's what it's going to take — the ability to reopen."
And while many consumers have turned to online shopping during the pandemic, Carlson suspects they'll want to support local businesses and will return to brick-and-mortar stores when they can.
The fate of some stores and restaurants in 2021 also will be tied to whether landlords can work out deals with tenants and whether lenders will cut property owners some slack, Useman said. Even if landlords want to give retailers and restaurants a break on rent, they're still obligated to make payments on loans they've taken out to purchase their properties.
"The next six months will tell what will happen to a lot of people because of the COVID," Useman said.
"Most people are just trying to hang on until next summer when things get better," he said. "The question is, who has the financial ability to hang on with help from everybody? That's going to be the question. Can the landlords, can the lenders, can everybody help each other and make it through the next six months? That's when I think we'll know what the final toll's going to be due to the COVID."
Here's a partial list of changes in the retail and restaurant landscape during 2020 — closings, arrivals and newcomers expected for 2021:
CLOSINGS: Stores, restaurants, bars and fitness centers
• Black Eyed Pea: The comfort-food favorite closed southwest of Interstate 25 and Garden of the Gods Road in Colorado Springs after failing to reach a new lease agreement. A second location remains open in the Citadel Crossing shopping center northeast of Academy Boulevard and Platte Avenue.
• Burlington: The department store closed at the north side Chapel Hills mall after failing to reach a new deal on a lease with the owner of its anchor store space, which was separate from the mall's ownership. Burlington stores remain at The Citadel mall in central Colorado Springs and in the Powers Pointe shopping center on the northeast side.
• California Pizza Kitchen: Specializing in hand-tossed, thin-crust pies, the chain cited pandemic-related problems and leasing issues with landlords when it closed in July at the north-side Promenade Shops at Briargate. It was the last remaining California Pizza Kitchen in town.
• C.B. & Potts: The regional restaurant chain, whose owner is based outside Tacoma, Wash., shuttered its lone Springs-area location at the Polaris Pointe retail center, southeast of Interstate 25 and North Gate Boulevard on the city's far north side.
• Drifter's Hamburgers: The longtime burger joint, which conjures up comparisons to the newly arrived In-N-Out Burger, closed its north-side location in October near the Chapel Hills Mall. Another location remains open at 4455 Mark Dabling Blvd., near Garden of the Gods Road.
• Gold's Gym, 24-Hour Fitness and Accolades: Gold’s Gym, based in Dallas, closed three Springs-area locations in April; 24 Hour Fitness shuttered a northern Colorado Springs facility in June; and locally owned Accolades Fitness closed its west side location in November, but continues to operate its gym on the city's northwest side.
• Gordmans: The department store chain shuttered its three stores in Colorado, including its longtime location at the Broadmoor Towne Center on the Springs' south side. Another Gordmans at the Chapel Hills mall closed in 2017.
• Pier 1: The Fort Worth, Texas–based seller of decorative home furnishings, gifts and furniture closed its last two stores in Colorado Springs at the First & Main Town Center and the Promenade Shops at Briargate. The retailer filed for bankruptcy in February after years of poor sales, according to national news reports.
• Stein Mart: The discounter filed for bankruptcy in August and closed its store at the University Village Colorado shopping center.
• Tuesday Morning: The off-price retailer of home furnishings, housewares and other items closed its store in the Southern Cross Shopping Center on the south side as part of the chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in June. Tuesday Morning still has stores on North Academy Boulevard in the Springs and at Powers Pointe.
• Village Inn: The national chain has closed most of its local restaurants; in 2020, it shuttered locations at Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs and near Interstate 25 and Colorado 105 in Monument.
• Zoës Kitchen: The Texas-based Mediterranean chain was relatively new to the local market when it closed its two restaurants on the city's south and northeast sides.
• Other closings in 2020 included downtown businesses Carle's Convenience store, CJ Kard, Dickey's Barbecue Pit, Iron Bird Brewing Co., Starbucks, Tailored West women's clothing, Thirsty Parrot, Triple Nickel Tavern and William Kurtz Ltd. men's clothing; Flatirons restaurant on the south side; Mavi Kebab and Paris Crepes restaurants in Manitou Springs; Buzz 'n Bagels in Monument; Sweet Elizabeth’s Organics restaurant on Colorado Springs' northwest side; a GNC nutrition store in Woodland Park; Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory stores at The Citadel and Chapel Hills malls; Smashburger near Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard; the Colorado Rand Market grocery southeast of Academy and North Carefree Circle; and Independent Records' location on North Academy.
ARRIVALS
• Bread & Butter Neighborhood Market: The small, locally owned grocery opened in September at 602 S. Nevada Ave. in downtown Colorado Springs.
• Buttermilk, A Breakfast Eatery: Opened in June on Colorado Springs' north side as part of the Polaris Pointe retail center.
• Crave Hot Dogs & Barbecue: The hot dog, barbecue and beer restaurant opened in late October in the Plaza at Barnes West retail center, northwest of Powers Boulevard and Barnes Road on the city's northeast side.
• In-N-Out Burger: After a three-year wait, the California fast-food favorite opened its first Colorado Springs restaurant in November at the north-side Victory Ridge development, southeast of InterQuest and Voyager parkways.
• Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar: The seafood restaurant founded in Boulder and with multiple locations in the Denver area opened in January on South Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs.
• Magnum Shooting Center: The indoor shooting range on Colorado Springs' far north side opened its second location in November inside a former Sears store at the Broadmoor Towne Center, southeast of Southgate Road and Nevada Avenue.
• Nékter Juice Bar: Specializing in healthy juices, smoothies and acaí bowls, the California-based chain open in May at 7340 N. Academy Blvd. in northern Colorado Springs.
• Parry's: The pizza chain opened its first location in March at the Powers Pointe shopping center southwest of Powers Boulevard and Barnes Road in northeast Colorado Springs, and opened a second restaurant in June at InterQuest Marketplace, east of Interstate 25 and InterQuest Parkway on the far north side.
• RoadHouse Cinemas: The area's newest movie theater, an eight-screen complex that offers food and beverage service for moviegoers as they watch films, opened in August inside a remodeled Kmart at 3030 N. Nevada Ave. in north central Colorado Springs.
• ViewHouse: The Denver-area restaurant and entertainment venue debuted in February northeast of Interstate 25 and Woodmen Road on the Springs' north side.
NEWCOMERS/EXPANSIONS FOR 2021
• AirCity360 Adventure Park: The family fun center — including wall climbing, trampolines, an obstacle course, dodgeball and a toddler area — broke ground in September and is targeting a spring opening in Polaris Pointe, southeast of Interstate 25 and North Gate Boulevard.
• Crush Golf: The state-of-the-art, year-round driving range with dining and meeting facilities for golfers, families and corporate gatherings, is targeting a 2021 opening also in Polaris Pointe.
• In-N-Out Burger: Plans to open a second location east of Powers Boulevard and Constitution Avenue, at the site of a former Outback Steakhouse in the First & Main Town Center."
"Retail closings in 2021 appear to be picking up where they left off in 2020.
Bed Bath & Beyond, the New Jersey-based home furnishings retailer that closed several locations nationwide last year, has launched another round of closures that includes a Colorado Springs store at 5944 Barnes Road, northeast of Powers Boulevard and Barnes in the Barnes Marketplace shopping center.
Colorado locations in Boulder and Lone Tree also are set to close.
A notice on the websites for the stores says, “This location is closing. Visit soon for sales and great clearance finds. Get the deals before they’re gone!”
In Colorado Springs, Bed Bath & Beyond shoppers were being told it was uncertain when the Barnes Road location would close, though a USA Today story this week said the latest closures would take place by the end of February.
Bed Bath & Beyond locations in the Springs will remain open at 2180 Southgate Road in the Broadmoor Towne Center and at 1790 E. Woodmen Road in Woodmen Commons, according to the retailer’s website. About 20 stores also continue to operate in suburban Denver and around the state.
The Colorado Springs, Boulder and Lone Tree store closings follow an announcement by Bed Bath & Beyond in July that it would shutter 200 stores over a two-year period, a company spokesman said via email. About 60% of those stores will have been closed by the end of February, his email said. Stores in Aurora and Greeley closed last year.
Asked why the stores were being closed, the Bed Bath & Beyond spokesman said the retailer has embarked on a “store optimization plan that will see us establish the right network of stores to serve our customers.” Part of that plan calls for an investment of $250 million in 450 North American stores over two to three years.
The spokesman didn’t respond to questions about how many employees worked at the soon-to-close Colorado Springs store and whether they will lose their jobs or transfer to other locations.
Retail and restaurant closings in Colorado Springs, like other cities, have been common in recent years. Online purchases made through Amazon and other online retailers have hurt many brick-and-mortar stores — from national brands to local mom-and-pops.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in government-ordered temporary store and restaurant closings and capacity limits in Colorado and elsewhere, also has hurt many businesses.
In Colorado Springs, Sears closed its two stores in 2019. Springs-area retail closings since the start of 2020 include Stein Mart, Gordmans, Pier 1 Imports, Tuesday Morning and Burlington, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory."
A lot (not all) of these chains closing these were headed that way anyway. If you read the details of the articles, a lot of these closures were already in the works pre-COVID. Perhaps it pushed things along for some of them. Pier 1 and Bed Bath and Beyond etc. if you have been in their stores you know they're just not relevant today and are greatly overpriced.
A lot (not all) of these chains closing these were headed that way anyway. If you read the details of the articles, a lot of these closures were already in the works pre-COVID. Perhaps it pushed things along for some of them. Pier 1 and Bed Bath and Beyond etc. if you have been in their stores you know they're just not relevant today and are greatly overpriced.
Yes, exactly. I don't celebrate anyone's business going under (okay, maybe the Thirsty Parrot), but a lot of these likely saw the writing on the wall long ago. Any business relying on traffic in the Citadel Mall, for example, is probably not long for this world.
I'm sorry to see some of these places go, but I've also been really excited to see some of the new businesses that have replaced them.
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Often I find that sometimes people mistake odd musings from someone as "this is the way it has to be, and this is my opinion on it [and everyone else's opinion is wrong], and this is how it should be" instead of someone simply thinking about current events, current economics, and not really giving an opinion of if it is right or wrong, just... how it is, and being curious to how things may change.
